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Features

Researchers from the University of Massachusetts say there’s something special about Cedar Key dolphins.
“They have unique feeding behaviors not seen anywhere else in the world,” said PhD candidate Stefanie Gazda in a phone interview Friday.
Gazda heads up the Cedar Key Dolphin Project, a program that operates in the area for a few short weeks each year aimed at a better understanding the creatures and the environment they live in.

Join area libraries for Fairy Tales and Bedtime stories from all around the world. We will listen to international University of Florida students, make crafts, play games, listen to music and enjoy snacks.
Come to one event or all of them. Large groups welcome, but please notify us in advance.
All events begin at 10 a.m.

The Levy County Public Safety & Hurricane Preparedness Expo, sponsored by the Levy Department of Public Safety, will be Saturday, May 19, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Williston Airport. Admission is free.
There will be demonstrations of vehicle extrications using the Jaws of Life, and working dogs for Search & Rescue and the Sheriffs’ Office.
Displays will include ambulances, fire trucks, helicopters, hazardous materials equipment, police cars, a medical simulator lab, and forestry equipment from several counties.

Rick and Patti Fabiani gave the Cedar Key Woman's Club a presentation on the Fisher House coming soon to Gainesville.
And, after a short video on the foundation, there were few dry eyes in the clubhouse.
The Fisher House, according to the organization’s website, is about “Supporting America's military in their time of need, we provide 'a home away from home' that enables family members to be close to a loved one at the most stressful time — during hospitalization for an illness, disease or injury."

A Children’s Summer Art Program at the Cedar Key Arts Center for 1st through 12th grade students is planned.
Youth can learn from the experts about ceramics, drawing, sculpture, photography etc.
Classes are from 9-11:30 am daily and there will be an exhibit of students’ work on Friday, July 27.
Registration forms are available at the Cedar Keyhole, Chamber of Commerce or from Kathy Hudson at Cedar Key School.
Enrollment is limited and deadline is June 112. There is a $20 materials cost, but scholarships are available, just ask.

Story Submitted by Island Arts
If you’ve visited Island Arts across from the Post Office on Second Street in the past two weeks you’ve probably asked “Where’s Bo?” If you don’t know who Bo is, then let me tell you, you missed meeting the coolest shop cat in Cedar Key.

Artist of the Month for May 2012 at the Cedar Keyhole Gallery is Virginia Stevenson.
Using a variety of fabrics and dyeing methods, Virginia Stevenson has steeply advanced the sophistication of her creations. Her works have appeared in a number of shows as well as collections. Stevenson has also been commissioned to devise fabric solutions for decorator challenges. Never idle, Stevenson uses many of her original fabric designs in producing ready-to-wear fashions. All of her latest creations will be on display at the Cedar Keyhole during the entire month of May.

At 79, Henry Gernhardt’s hands have twisted, turned, pressed, pounded, painted and baked globs of earth into works of art for more than 73 years.
The artist, who now lives and works just outside of Cedar Key with his wife, Amy, grew up in rural Connecticut in a family he describes as being mostly engineers and mechanics.
“I just couldn’t get into that,” he says. “I always did things different.”
So, Gernhardt started a formal education in the arts at Norwich Art School in the early 1950s.

The months of February and March provided an opportunity for Levy County Visitors Bureau to host two international groups of travel writers, a television segment shoot and a writer and photographer from Southern Living magazine.

By MELISSA WATERSSpecial to the Beacon
Roxy Blues is a fictional story based upon the lives of real people. It is the story of two ordinary people who live in Cedar Key and the impact that an extremely effective pain killing medication has upon their lives.
Roxy Contin overtakes a husband and wife's life and becomes an addiction. This is a novel about what could happen to any of us, writes Pierce Kelley the author, an attorney in Cedar Key.

By Donna ThalacherWintertime Cedar Key resident
I probably got started into composting for the wrong reason. In Iowa, John and I live on the Des Moines River and I love to garden. As the years have passed, my flower beds have both grown in size and number, including a rather large wildflower bank meadow. And if that isn’t enough, once the grandchildren started arriving, our fruit and vegetable gardens started growing as well.

On Saturday and Sunday, April 21-22, from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m., Florida’s coastline from Pensacola to St. Mark’s will step back into maritime history by staging the second Lighthouse Challenge.
Five lighthouse: Pensacola Lighthouse, Cape San Blas Lighthouse, Cape St. George Light, Crooked River Lighthouse and St. Mark’s Lighthouse will be open to visitors.

The Cedar Key Woman’s Club held its Installation Dinner on March 28 at the Seabreeze Restaurant in Cedar Key.
The theme of the event was “recycling”, and true to that theme, the club’s new officers are those that served in the past.
Officers installed include: Jane Moore, president; Debbie Franks, first vice-president (not present), Joan Selby, second vice-president; Teri Brennan, secretary; Cindy Leiner, treasurer (not present); Judy Duvall, parliamentarian; and Eileen Senecal, corresponding secretary.

By Toni C. CollinsLevy County Historian
The Federal government has conducted a census or account of its population every year since 1790. In that year the census takers, who were U.S. Marshals on horseback, counted 3.9 million inhabitants.
Why did the government undertake such a huge project? As America expanded, the nation’s interests grew more complex and the government needed to plan for that new growth.